Apple CambridgeSide — Attraction in Cambridge

Geoff an Apple employee for 5 years is ABSOLUTELY EXCEPTIONAL, PROACTIVE, AND EMBODIES WHAT USE TO BE A VERY ENGAGING EXPERIENCE WHEN GOING INTO AN APPLE STORE. Geoff took ownership of my issue, handled the "sign in" junk. I left the store at 11:04, I got an email at 11:44 that my issue was resolved & my iPhone fixed---it had a broken screen.

So, why the suck rating. Nancy Nancy Nancy. She just happens to be the "Store Manager" who was on duty. She is a buffoon w/ zero ability to rationally engage people in a manner that befits a Manager who is seeking to resolve, remedy, and be proactive toward the client. (yet those are just words...what follows is a brief description to support those words.)

My iPhone screen is cracked. I tried to make a reservation at the Cambridge MA Apple store online. After combing through 9-10 menu screens, the Apple site asked for my phone number. I provided it, and promptly got a text msg (they were trying to remotely diagnose my issue---without any customer engagement). After that failed, and considering that I was literally looking at the issue (a broken screen)---I phoned Apple...the person I ultimately spoke to was sufficiently pleasant, however the only Appt at Cambridge was for 3:15, so she suggested I simply walk-in early.

Store is on my way to work as I commute...so I found a 30 min meter, parked, and went to the store. It wasn't crowded. Yet, I became agitated with the gentleman trying to help me---and raised my voice---no yelling screaming---just reiterating "WHY DO I NEED TO WAIT, I DON'T WANT TO GET A PARKING TICKET. YOU SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS, JUST TAKE IT, I WILL SIGN WHATEVER AND PAY...JUST TAKE THE PHONE, I GOT 20 MINS LEFT ON MY METER...IT ISN'T LIKE THE SCREEN JUST CRACKED & I SUSPECT AN OVERHEATING LITHIUM BATTERY...NO I DROPPED THE THING...JUST TAKE IT". Then Nancy came over & stonewalled and stonewalled me----telling me it had to be at least 25 mins until the phone could be "signed in" and taken. Her primary concern was that I was talking loudly---mind you, I wasn't yelling, I wasn't cursing, etc. All that Nancy could do for me was offer to break a $1 bill so I could put more quarters in the meter. Nancy is the Store Manager, or so she claimed, she could have been proactive seeing what the obvious problem was---but she suggested it could be far worse and a new screen wouldn't "seat properly". I told he no way. But she refused to expedite anything...(look if this was a "real" issue like the phone didn't download apps, I would have respected the non-sense policies)...but this was a cracked screen. Nancy walked away from me...I assume she was going to break the $1 bill, but she went to check in on some other customer. Geoff appeared out of nowhere---took my phone signed me in, had everything done for me to leave the phone completed within---perhaps 3-4 mins----GEOFF IS A SAVIOR, HE OUGHT BE THE STORE MANAGER. I got my dollar back from Nancy---who, unfortunately I must state again is a blithering imbecile. I was out of the store at 11:04am. I got an email in my office at 11:44am that the phone was repaired and a new screen had been installed and it was ready for pick up...which I will do on my commute home.

Nancy embodies the Apple of today...a cold, idiot, bureaucrat. Geoff embodies the Apple that once was---full of wonderment and proactive client engagement. Thank you Geoff...I've reached out to Apple Corporate....Nancy...well, your mentality is why this store has a suck rating to begin...

Super disappointing in store experience. My AirPod Pros were part of the batch identified to have been manufactured with defective parts back in 2020 and had a constant clicking noise to the point where they became unusable. Apple set up a three year replacement program for all the affected devices, but these AirPods were three and a half years old so they no longer qualified for the replacement or repair program. When I brought them into the to get repaired, they confirmed that there was no user damage to the AirPods and that it was indeed a manufacturer defect, but because I didn’t bring them in within the three year period, the only option was to buy new ones. I didn’t think it was really fair that they knowingly built a faulty product and that “if only it had just broken sooner” was a reason that I now would have to pay $160 because of their original mistake. I was told I should be happy with the three years I got out of them and that three years is pretty long for AirPods, which is a disappointing statement for an allegedly luxury product. No one really seemed to care or try to help me at all, they just told me I was out of luck and that I should’ve brought them in sooner (except they weren’t broken any sooner so I’m not sure how that would be possible)

Instead of offering any way to extend the warranty or help me out, they kept trying to push me to buy new headphones. They discouraged me from reaching out to online support or customer service because the response would be the same.

Later that day when I called customer service, they were incredibly friendly and did everything they could to help me out — the complete opposite experience from the in store team. In just a few minutes we worked together to repair and ultimately replace the AirPods within the warranty for free. Not sure why the in store team couldn’t just try to help instead of being so defensive and trying to push me to buy new product.

Really frustrating...

I went back around December 2020, the two stars are for the person working the line to enter the store, and for the tech who ultimately helped me, they were both very nice and helpful.

The lack of the other three stars, is because the first tech I spoke with, didn't do his job properly and also didn't seem like he wanted to be there, which I get but it's not a pleasant shopping experience to deal with a rude person. I was there to pick up a new phone that a family member had bought for me as a gift, and the family member had completed all the steps needed to get me logged as a verified person to pick it up from the store. However, the first tech claimed I was not listed as a verified person. I had to waste time getting out of line, call my family member to confirm I was logged [I was], and get back in line.

That's when the second tech helped me, and he was much more pleasant and helpful. He explained that I indeed was listed as a verified person, but he had to scroll down a little farther on his screen to see it. So he basically told me that his coworker didn't do his job correctly and wasted my time....I get that mistakes happen, but his coworker, the one who made the mistake, was standing right next to him and heard the whole thing, and didn't even apologize for the mistake. This was back in December of last year when it was flu season, and the mall was very crowded so it took a while to wait in line.

I do really appreciate the second tech, and the person working the line who noticed all this and apologized for my inconvenience. But I'm just saying, I don't recommend having high expectations for this store in terms...